Example sentence: The book is being promoted as an inspiring memoir of a self-made man, but it is mostly an apologia for various unpopular professional choices made by its author over the years.

Did you know? As you might expect, "apologia" is a close relative of "apology." Both words derive from Late Latin; "apologia" came to English as a direct borrowing while "apology" traveled through Middle French. The Latin "apologia" derives from a combination of the Greek prefix "apo-," meaning "away from," and the word "logia," from Greek "logos," meaning "speech." In their earliest English uses, "apologia" and "apology" meant basically the same thing: a formal defense or justification of one's actions or opinions. Nowadays, however, the two are more distinct. The modern "apology" generally involves an admission of wrongdoing and an expression of regret for past actions, while an "apologia" typically focuses on explaining, justifying, or making clear the grounds for some course of action, belief, or position.

The modern "apology" generally involves an admission of wrongdoing and an expression of regret for past actions, while an "apologia" typically focuses on explaining, justifying, or making clear the grounds for some course of action, belief, or position.